Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden Medallion

Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden Medallion is the debut studio album of Fight Like Apes. It was released in Ireland on 26 September 2008, the UK on 26 January 2009 and Japan in April 2009.

Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden Medallion
Studio album by
Fight Like Apes
Released 26 September 2008
26 January 2009
22 April 2009
Recorded2008
GenreAlternative rock,[1] karate rock,[2][3] punk rock[4]
Length38:35
LabelModel Citizen Records
Sony Music Entertainment Japan[5]
ProducerJohn Goodmanson
Fight Like Apes chronology
David Carradine is a Bounty Hunter Whos Robotic Arm Hates Your Crotch
(2007)		 Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden Medallion
(2008)		 The Body of Christ and the Legs of Tina Turner
(2010)
Singles from Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Gold Medallion
  1. "Something Global"
    Released: 2008
  2. "Lend Me Your Face"
    Released: 2008
  3. "Jake Summers"
    Released: 19 September 2008
  4. "Tie Me Up with Jackets"
    Released: 2009

The album charted in the top ten of the Irish Albums Chart upon its release, at #9. It was nominated in the Best Irish Album category at the 2009 Meteor Awards, as well as for the Choice Music Prize in the same year. Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden Medallion was named 31st best album of the decade by Phantom FM at the end of 2009.[6]

Recording

The band spent a month in Seattle, Washington, in early 2008, recording tracks for the album, produced by John Goodmanson.[7][8][9] The album title is the beginning of a franchise intended to rival George Lucas, J. K. Rowling and Steven Spielberg, and was inspired by a 1980s Mr. T cartoon.[10] The episode was called “The Mystery of the Golden Medallion” and followed Mr T as he coached an Olympic gymnastics youth team.[10]

The album was released on 26 September 2008 on Model Citizen Records,[11][12][13] selling continually well in Ireland and the UK.[14] It was preceded by the release of the single "Something Global" on 11 July 2008.[7] Fight Like Apes played a sold-out launch show at Whelan's in Dublin,[13] which was broadcast live on Phantom FM on the day of release.

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[15]
AltSounds(80%)[16]
BBC(not rated)[17]
CLUAS(not rated)[18]
entertainment.ie[19]
RTÉ[20]
Sputnikmusic[21]
Sunday Tribune[22]

The Irish Times described the album as an "astonishing debut that encompasses melancholy and whimsy (both lyrically and musically).[23] The Irish Independent, on the other hand, "strongly urge[d] all not to waste their money" on "the woeful debut" of a band with "lots of blogger and media friends, all aurally challenged".[24] These blogger friends responded to the criticism of the band but the band's frontwoman, MayKay, remains unbothered by criticism as long as the album is simply being reviewed.[9] RTÉ also gave the album a lukewarm response.[25] Neil Dunphy, writing in the Sunday Tribune, said producer John Goodmanson had "managed to capture Fight Like Apes' red hot live energy on record".[26]

In the UK press NME awarded the album 7/10 and described it as "Relentlessly pilfering the brightest parts of post-hardcore synthery, cartoon punk and sugar-rush twee, these totally hinge-free magpies have built a nest from shards of Enter Shikari, Test Icicles and Le Tigre and then thrashed the shiny fuck out of it." The album also received 8/10 in Rocksound and "4 flies" in The Fly.

In October 2008, Sony Music Entertainment Japan signed the band for the Asian release of Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden Medallion.[27] It was released in Japan in April 2009.[9]

It was released in the UK on 26 January 2009.[28][29]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Fight Like Apes.

No.TitleLength
1."Something Global"3:50
2."Jake Summers"3:54
3."Tie Me Up with Jackets"2:35
4."Digifucker"3:25
5."Lend Me Your Face"1:54
6."Battlestations"3:53
7."Do You Karate?"2:31
8."Megameanie"0:08
9."I'm Beginning to Think You Prefer Beverly Hills 90210 to Me"3:23
10."Lumpy Dough"3:20
11."Recyclable Ass"2:30
12."Snore Bore Whore"4:37
Total length:38:35
UK (bonus tracks)
No.TitleLength
13."Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues"2:01
14."Knucklehead"1:57
15."Telephone The Real Ham Jackson"6:04
16."Canhead"2:10
17."This Is Like The Time Jody Didn't Know What Cunnilingus Was"1:06
Total length:49:27

Personnel
  • MayKay - Synth, vocals
  • Pockets - Synth, vocals
  • Tom - Bass
  • Adrian - Drums
  • John Goodmanson - Production
  • Zoran Orlic - Photography

Chart performance

Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden Medallion reached the top five of the Irish Albums Chart, meaning the band became the first alternative act from Ireland to achieve this for several years.[1]

Chart Peak
position
Irish Albums Chart 5

Awards

Choice Music Prize

Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden Medallion was nominated for the Choice Music Prize in January 2009.[9][24][30][31] The award was won by Jape for the album Ritual on 4 March 2009.[32][33][34][35][36][37][38]

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2009Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden MedallionIrish Album of the Year 2008Nominated

Meteor Music Awards

Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden Medallion was nominated at the Meteor Music Awards in 2009, in the category of Best Irish Album.[9][30][31][39][40][41]

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2009Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden MedallionBest Irish AlbumNominated

References
  1. "Electric Avenue 2nd Birthday Celebrations". The Munster Express. 2009-10-31. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
  2. "No monkey business with Fight Like Apes". Limerick Independent. 2007-10-31. Archived from the original on 2008-12-02. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
  3. "Manic 'Easter' Monday". The Munster Express. 2008-03-19. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
  4. "OV6 Week 6". Other Voices. 2008-03-19. Archived from the original on 2008-03-26. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
  5. "Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden Medallion (Asia Edition)". Sony Music Entertainment Japan. 2009-04-22. Retrieved 2012-03-08.
  6. "Phantom's fab 50". The Irish Times. 2009-10-30. Retrieved 2009-10-30. The highest placed Irish album was Fight Like Apes' 2008 debut, which came in at number 31. The full list can be seen at www.phantom.ie.
  7. "Fight Like Apes Release Date". Sputnikmusic. 2008-05-26. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
  8. "A review of 'Fight Like Apes & The Mystery of the Golden Medallion'". CLUAS. 2008-10-20. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
  9. "fighting talk". The Sunday Business Post. 2009-02-02. Archived from the original on 2010-03-28. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
  10. "Fight Like Apes for Mr T treasure". Birmingham Mail. 2008-11-21. Archived from the original on 2012-03-13. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
  11. "Fight Like Apes announce album details, Dublin gig and free download". Hot Press. 2008-08-05. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
  12. "Fight Like Apes announced gig and album details". Phantom FM. 2008-08-05. Archived from the original on October 6, 2008. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
  13. "For The Love Of..." RTÉ. 2008-08-05. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
  14. "Fight Like Apes". The Munster Express. 2009-06-05. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
  15. Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden Medallion at AllMusic
  16. https://web.archive.org/web/20091231021845/http://hangout.altsounds.com/reviews/113696-fight-like-apes-fight-like-apes-and-the-mystery-of-the-golden-medallion-album.html
  17. https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/4jrg
  18. http://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Album_Reviews/tabid/87/EntryId/849/Fight-Like-Apes-FLA-The-Mystery-of-the-Golden-Medallion.aspx
  19. http://entertainment.ie/album-review/Fight-Like-Apes---And-the-Mystery-of-the-Golden-Medallion/5898.htm
  20. http://www.rte.ie/arts/2008/1010/fightlikeapes.html
  21. http://www.sputnikmusic.com/album.php?reviewid=27306
  22. http://www.tribune.ie/article/2008/sep/28/rock-and-pop/
  23. "The 50 best Irish music acts right now". The Irish Times. 2009-04-03. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
  24. "Loaded: 16 January 2009". Irish Independent. 2009-01-16. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
  25. "Fight Like Apes - Fight Like Apes and the Mystery of the Golden Medallion". RTÉ. 2008-10-10. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
  26. "Rock and Pop". Sunday Tribune. 2008-09-28. Retrieved 2009-08-05.
  27. "Fight Like Apes On Prodigy Tour". Sputnikmusic. 2008-10-28. Archived from the original on 2012-11-02. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
  28. "Performed with the personality with which it is imbued". BBC. 2009-01-22. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
  29. "The biggest bands of 2009". Sunday Herald. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
  30. "Kings and Killers lead the Meteors way". The Irish Times. 2009-01-29. Retrieved 2009-01-28.
  31. "Doherty, Elbow and Cave for Oxegen". The Irish Times. 2009-02-13. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
  32. "UPDATED: Jape wins 2009 Choice Music Price". Hot Press. 2009-03-05. Retrieved 2009-03-05.
  33. "Jape album wins Choice Music Prize". RTÉ. 2009-03-05. Retrieved 2009-03-05.
  34. "Dublin musician Jape wins Choice Music Prize". Irish Examiner. 2009-03-05. Retrieved 2009-03-05.
  35. "Dublin musician Jape wins Choice Music Prize". Irish Independent. 2009-03-05. Archived from the original on 2012-08-03. Retrieved 2009-03-05.
  36. "Jolly Jape admits he's surprised to scoop Choice gong". Irish Independent. 2009-03-05. Retrieved 2009-03-05.
  37. "Dublin band Jape wins overall prize at Choice Music awards". The Irish Times. 2009-03-05. Retrieved 2009-03-05.
  38. "Jape the surprise choice as Ritual takes the plaudits". The Irish Times. 2009-03-05. Retrieved 2009-03-05.
  39. "Meteor Awards 2009 - Presenter & Nominees Revealed". Hot Press. 2009-01-28. Retrieved 2009-01-28.
  40. "Meteor Music Awards folks wake up and shut down website". The Irish Times. 2009-01-27. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
  41. "Meteor Music Awards nominees revealed". RTÉ. 2009-01-29. Retrieved 2009-01-28.
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